Transcript

Mr. Newton

October 23, 1950

Interviews with United Press and Associated Press

Today I talked with Miss Clary of United Press, Richmond 6565,
and with Mr. Arthur, of Associated Press, Richmond 7-9595• Miss Clary
told me that a new story had come over the United Press wires, in which my name
was mentioned. She said that Senator McCarthy had issued a
statement in which the names of 9 atomic scientists were given, as
examples of flagrant dereliction on the part of the Atomic Energy Commission. I
said to her "I have never received any classified information
of any sort about atomic energy from the Atomic Energy Commission." She
said that the story also mentioned that I was connected with the Guggen—
heim foundation, and that the Guggenheim Foundation had a flagrant record
of giving fellowships to Communists. I said that I did not want to comment
on this item, because I was only a member of the Committee of Selection of
the Guggenheim Foundation, and could not speak for the Foundation.

Mr. Arthur (perhaps he is at the city desk of the Los Angeles
Times) seems to have a somewhat different story. He read the
Associated Press story to me - I believe in toto. As read to me, the
story said that the American Association for the Advancement of Science
had Kirtley Mather as president, although he belonged to 40 Communist-front
organizations. It mentioned the Federation of Atomic Scientists, and said
that Higginbotham and Lyle Borst of the Long Island AEC laboratories were connected
with it. He mentioned Philip Morrison and H.C. Urey, and then Linus Carl Pauling,
who worked for Communist causes. I gave him the following statement: "I have been
working in support of an international policy that would lead to peace, and I presume
that that is what Senator McCarthy is referring to."